Christian Bale has stated time and time again he doesn’t want to be Batman again unless Christopher Nolan is directing. Well, the Caped Crusader set to return to the big screen in 2015, casting is well under way and the latest rumor states Warner Bros. will reportedly offer Bale 60 million reasons to change his mind.

The Sun Newspaper is reporting the studio, which will release Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel follow-up Batman vs. Superman in 2015, has offered the Oscar-winning actor 40 million pounds to play Batman once again. That works out to about $60 million.

The Sun website is subscriber based, so thanks to Badass Digest for the heads up. But definitely keep in mind this is not confirmed and The Sun is a tabloid, and thus not the most reliable source. But the idea obviously makes a ton of sense.

Reports on casting for Batman have been all over the map, with most of them saying Snyder is looking for a slightly older Bruce Wayne. Bale would certainly fit the profile, not to mention would tie Nolan’s Dark Knight franchise back into their DC Universe. That would be a plus for audiences who’ve been invested since 2005 with that franchise and might be thrown off if Superman fights a new Batman in the upcoming film.

I think almost any fan would love to see Bale in the cape and cowl rather than a new actor, but you’ve also got to respect his wish to gracefully retire the role. Then again, $60 million is $60 million. No one makes that kind of money on a movie unless they have a great back end deal (IE – Robert Downey Jr. made $100 million on The Avengers, Johnny Depp has also cleaned up on some Pirates of the Caribbean movies.) There’s also a chance this would be for multiple movies, not just the one.

So – what do you think? Does this sound plausible? And, if it does, will Bale take the bat bait?